05.12
Cambodia Gambling Halls
There is a captivating history to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the dividing line from nearby Thailand, in which casino wagering is not legal. Eight gambling dens are anchored in a generally tiny space in the metropolis of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia gambling halls is in an excellent spot, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the 2 largest gaming centers in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a couple of Westerners. The amazing capital acquired from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to more than twelve and a half million dollars, and there are a few limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be largely Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and though visas are supposedly necessary to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of many border crossings.
The 1st Cambodia gambling halls opened in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only one gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge gambling hall, features 150 slot machines and 60 gaming tables. The Naga gambling hall never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of chemin de fer, 10 of roulette, 2 of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown soon opened. A total of 150 slot machine games and five tables at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four slots and sixty eight gaming tables at the Holiday Palace. The newer Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slot machine games and seventy tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machine games and 96 table games, including eighty seven punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the common table games, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. An additional of the 8 gambling dens in Poipet, again a part of a motel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in a multinational vacation and hotel compound that features many luxuries aside from the gambling hall, which contains 10,000 sq.ft. of 130 slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.